Moon

The moon (tsuki) had special
poetic and aesthetic significance in Japanese life. As well as being
accociated with numerous legends, many of them deriving from China,
the moon was part of the annual calendar, which was itself regulated
by the phases of the moon. Parties and festivals marked the particular
appearance of the moon, and special places were set aside for the
contemplation of the moon (and often its reflection), such as moon-viewing
pavilions. On the full moon of the 8th and 9th months, poems were
composed to the accompaniment of sake drinking. In a work
of art the full moon was often associated with autumn. The moon
obviously held a significance for Yoshitoshi; it provided the theme
of his greatest series of prints, and it was the central metaphor
of his memorial poem.